


Animaniacs: Public Domain-y

by Queenfighterfly



Series: Animaniacs: Found a Family [1]
Category: Animaniacs
Genre: ADHD, Actual Threats that could kill you, Anxiety Attacks, Autism, Bad Guys being Bad Guys, Bi!Yakko, Blood and Injury, Disney/Dreamworks redesigns of the Warners, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Found Family, Hypoglycemia, Kids get put in a water tower and are sad for thirty years, LET THE WARNERS SAY FUCK, Like, M/M, Non-Binary!Wakko, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Insert, Self-Insert Mom, Trans!Dot, give the warners eye colors and five fingers OR GIVE ME DEATH, oh and scratchansniff is dead, sorry about that, yeah that's canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28133400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenfighterfly/pseuds/Queenfighterfly
Summary: Thirty years have passed since the final film of the Animaniacs series, and the mysterious disappearance of the titular three main characters. Many of the Toons have either moved on with their lives or left the studio. Many humans have either left the studio or died. Life goes on as thought the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) never existed.The year is 2030. A lot has changed.28-year-old Katherine Rousseau came to the studio to become a screenwriter and storyboard artist. Alone in a new, strange state - working in a strange city - for the first time in her life, she hopes to make a new life for herself here in Burbank, utilizing her unique skills and talents to secure herself a job at the studio and make her way in Hollywood. She doesn't come to the studio often, thankfully able to work from home. But when she does stop by the studio, she always enjoys the time she has there. Everyone is so friendly and nice to her there!The only complaints she really has are the tight deadlines.And the Water Tower. She doesn't like walking by it.No one does.
Relationships: Dot Warner/Original Character(s), Wakko Warner/Original Character(s), Yakko Warner/Original Character(s)
Series: Animaniacs: Found a Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061012
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Animaniacs: Public Domain-y

**Author's Note:**

> Upon the death of the famed psychiatrist Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff, his belongings were examined by Warner Brothers faculty and staff, as well as friends and family. A collection of logs and letters were found among his personal affairs.
> 
> All files pertaining to Warner Brothers cartoon characters are property of Warner Brothers Studio and subject to alteration and/or seizure for security purposes. Some information or unimportant files have been redacted for your convenience. The information in these files is strictly classified, not to be shared any unauthorized personnel.
> 
> So if you're reading this and are not a Director Level 4 or Higher, you're fired.
> 
> Warner Brothers Studios thanks you for your cooperation.

Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff’s Patient Log

Log Case #6182: The Warner Brothers (And the Warner Sister)

Note: Uncovered upon Dr. Scratchansniff’s death, much of the information found in this case log concerning the Warner Brothers is classified, property of Warner Brothers Studios, and has been redacted for the sake of studio security. Some files deemed unimportant or irrelevant have been excluded for the sake of brevity.

* * *

**June 5th, 1993**

Log 1: Today, the Warner Brothers, and the Warner Sister, escaped the Warner Brothers Water Tower. 

They had previously been sealed away inside the tower to prevent them from disrupting studio production, as they had been far too zany ant kooky. I have been told that they have been sealed away since the 1930’s. Sixty-three years! The Water Tower was supposed to keep them trapped forever. But evidently, it is not fool-proof.

While the board had considered locking them away again, the Chairman of the Board, **[REDACTED]** , has chosen a different strategy. He has asked me to see to the Warner Brothers’ psychological evaluation and rehabilitation. They are hoping to be able to control them enough to film them for a cartoon show of some kind. 

I’ve been told that I may even get to star in it! How exciting!

Although… I will admit that I am not experienced in dealing with children. Even child stars usually have their own counselors.

However, I am determined to meet the Chairman’s expectations of me. I shall see to it that the Warners are trained and rehabilitated to be well-mannered, behaved children by the end of the year!

* * *

**September 9th, 1993**

**Session 1: Primary Evaluation of all three Warner siblings.**

The three siblings stuck together as often as they could, and rarely separated for very long. I was met with much resistance to any of my questioning methods whilst they were together as a group. I could only get jokes and gags and monkey stuff from them. Literal answers, puns, cartoon physics…

It turns out that our filming the first episode together wasn’t quite off from reality. Though not quite as infuriating as the episode was written to be, but they were noticeably quite guarded.

I have decided to meet with them individually next week. Perhaps they will be more comfortable alone.

* * *

**September 16th, 1993**

**Session 2: Evaluation of Dot Warner.**

Dot Warner, the youngest Warner sister, introduced herself thusly:

“Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fana Bo Besca the Third, but you can call me Dot.”

I’ve been warned not to call her ‘Dottie’, however.

I questioned her as to how this name came to be, and she just proclaimed that she was ‘born that way’. But I have found no mention of this incredibly long name in her concept notes.

I have been told that she was drawn to be mentally and physically nine years old, and she behaves as such. She stresses her maturity and femininity to an almost exaggerated degree, as many young girls her age will.

I noticed that during many of the tests and questions, while she stayed seated, she had much trouble focusing and sitting still. She fidgeted and kept looking around, and i kept having to remind her to look at me instead. She did not seem uncomfortable, just unfocused.

My primary evaluation shows her to be rather extroverted and social. She has no trouble communicating or speaking socially, no speech impediments of any sorts. Memory and attentiveness appear somewhat impaired, or she was playing games again. It is hard to tell with these children puppy kitten creatures the Warners.

Other than some trouble with memorization, paying attention, and hyperactivity, she seemed… almost normal. For a Toon, of course. Goofy and out of control, but she astonished me with how often she behaved herself. 

If I had to describe Dot on a personal level, I would say that she is a very confident, sassy, quick-witted and aggressive little girl. Very social, somewhat flighty and hyperactive. I will need to evaluate her further, but she may be exhibiting symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Future sessions are needed to confirm my suspicions.

**Session 3: Evaluation of Wakko Warner.**

Wakko Warner was the stark opposite of Dot Warner. The middle child, conceptually ten years old. 

When not with his siblings, he was almost completely different than how he was before. He rarely spoke unless spoken to, and when he did speak, it was as few words as possible. And he hardly moved! He simply lay there on the couch and answered my questions plainly. And literally. Wakko seems to struggle with abstract concepts and thought.

He showed some struggle to read the pictures and books I asked him to read back to me, and stark discomfort when attempting to read at what I assumed was his grade level. He may suffer from some form of learning disability of cognitive impairment.

It should be worthy of note that at several points during our session, Wakko kept asking for snacks, water, and a trip to the restroom. I learned very quickly that Wakko suffers from some form of hypoglycemia, which is noticeably odd for a Toon. 

As anyone who works in an animation studio, or otherwise works closely with Toons, knows well enough, Toons do not usually require food, necessarily. While they certainly are able to eat and can feel a boost of energy through eat, it is quite impossible for a normal Toon to feel genuine hunger or thirst, let alone starve to death. Had the contrary been the case with the Warner Brothers, they would have starved years ago!

I have to assume that he was simply making jokes, or getting restless. After all, Toons cannot get hungry. But I decided to humor him for the sake of earning his trust, for the time being.

I will have to train him out of this in future sessions.

**Session 3: Evaluation of Yakko Warner.**

Yakko Warner, the eldest Warner Brother, was surprisingly difficult to convince to have an individual session. I managed to convince him to meet with me as long as he could see his siblings in the other room.

Yakko is conceptually thirteen years old, at that cusp from boyhood to becoming a teenager. With a mouth to match. The boy never stops talking! Our session lasted for six hours purely because he wouldn’t stop talking!

For example: I asked him what sort of books he likes to read, and he went on a forty-minute dissertation on the first four Sherlock Holmes novels that he had finished just yesterday. I asked him about his other interests: An hour and a half long presentation on the history of theater and William Shakespear’s contributions to the art!

It was hard to get to the heart of what I wanted to know about him. I couldn’t tell if he just rambled like that naturally, or if he was perhaps stalling or dodging. He kept glancing to his siblings, playing with Ms. Nerz in the other room. He never stopped smiling, and never showed it, but I could sense his tension the longer he was away from Wakko and Dot.

I attempted some word association with Yakko, and experienced some… interesting results.

_Mind - Brain_

_Started - Begun_

_Wait - Yield_

_Doing - Executing_

_Talking - Chattering_

_Movie - Film_

_Boss - Director_

_Sky - Heaven_

_Pen - Enclosure [It should be worth noting that I was referring to the writing utensil, not an animal’s pen]_

_Tower - Prison_

At this, his smile finally fell. He became very quiet, and told me that he no longer wished to ‘play this game anymore’. I urged him to continue the evaluation, but he became noticeably very moody and withdrawn after that. It seemed that he was aware that I had seen something he did not wish for me to see, and he was dissatisfied with that.

Other things to note: Yakko, somewhat similarly to Wakko, seems to struggle with abstract concepts. He seems to have a slight speech impediment; a stutter when he is caught off guard. He moved and fidgeted frequently, rarely made eye-contact with me... I have reason to suspect that he may suffer from some form of cognitive impairment.

Not that he is unintelligent. The boy has a wealth of knowledge I could never have imagined! The fact that he was sealed away in a water tower for 60 years did not seem to inhibit that at all. It’s almost a marvel! And clever--goodness, that boy is quick. The word association surprise was merely by accident; any other genuine attempt to catch him off guard seemed to fail. If I had surprised or shocked him in any way, he did not make it apparent. He was astonishingly proficient at maintaining his composure.

I wanted to attempt an IQ test, but our session was cut “short”, for lack of a better term, by Wakko having some sort of episode of panic in the other room. Yakko demanded to be let out to console him, and I agreed. I am still unsure as to what triggered Wakko’s sudden panic attack. 

Yakko is a very bright, intelligent, sharp young boy, and he cares for his siblings very deeply. However, Beneath his jovial attitude, I sense a tension. A certain distrust towards me.

I suppose I cannot blame him. I hope I will be able to earn their trust in the coming months. Perhaps the show will lighten their moods.

* * *

**October 30th, 1993**

My appointments with the Warners have been going quite well. I believe I have a somewhat better understanding of the Warners as individuals, as well as a group. Though only slightly.

They are still extremely difficult to control, especially when they are together. But they are extremely passionate to their roles in their show, helping on set, rehearsing their lines daily, making suggestions to the audio and visual departments, collaborating comedic cartoon violence and gags with me… They seem to be having genuine fun!

They seemed surprised when I asked what they were going to dress as for Halloween. Had they not been told that they were allowed to go Trick or Treating with the other children? Of course, they were locked away shortly before the term ‘trick-or-treating’ had been coined, but surely they had to know about Halloween.

I double checked with the Chairman of the Board if they were allowed to go Trick or Treating. I was informed that they were only allowed to go under strict supervision. That was when I felt safe to explain the concept to them, before they could get excited. They were enthralled by the idea! They were already talking about their costumes and where they were going to go. 

Parties, haunted houses, candy, trick or treating. It all seemed… foreign to them. New and exciting.

It was good to seem them so excited, but at the same time… Something about it felt… unnerving.

* * *

**November 1st, 1993**

It is after midnight, and I have just returned from taking the Warners on their first Halloween. 

Yakko dressed as William Shakespeare, Wakko as Sherriff Barney Fife, and Dot as a cute princess. She initially wanted to go as Marilynn Monroe. Convincing her to try on the princess costume was a huge relief.

They were exhausting. They dragged me all over the lot--All over Burbank! They wanted to see EVERYTHING!!! Haunted houses, hay rides, pranks, scary movies, trick or treating--they wanted to do all of it!

I suppose I should not be surprised. It was their first one in sixty-three years.

Sixty-three years.

The more time I spend with the Warners, the more unsettling that number becomes.

* * *

**November 22nd, 1993**

I told the Warners I would have to leave for Thanskgiving break. The studio closed down to let all the employees go home for the holiday. I, of course, don’t celebrate, but I do enjoy taking the time to fly back to Austria to spend time with family when I can.

They asked about Thanksgiving. Of course. They would not have known about it in the short time they were outside.

I explained the whole thing, and Wakko became very excited. He immediately wanted to do the whole thing and insisted I stay for Thanksgiving with them. Despite my insistence, I found it hard to say no. After all, if I didn’t see that they behaved themselves, they would run amok in the empty studio. And then what would we come back to after the holiday? Chaos!

I have decided to stay in Burbank this year. Just this once! I will show them how to have a traditional American Thanksgiving so that they can do it by themselves next year.

How bad can it be?

* * *

**November 25th, 1993**

That was a disaster.

The Warners cannot cook to save their lives. Their food was horrendous. Thanksgiving Turkey soaked in bacon grease, mashed potatoes with garlic knots, apple tart with sour patch kids! What was I thinking?! The studio kitchen was in absolute ruin! Mashed potatoes and gravy everything!

But they were satisfied, I suppose. They enjoyed themselves, at least.

Heaven help me, what on Earth is Christmas going to be like?

I asked them what they had to be thankful for. 

“Our show, each other, and that we get to spend our first Thanksgiving with you, Scratchy!”

I take umbrage at that nickname. But… I cannot stay angry at the sentiment, I suppose.

* * *

**December 23rd, 1993**

The Warners cried when they were informed that they were not invited to the studio Christmas Eve party. After Thanksgiving, they were forbidden from attending any of our company parties until they could learn to control themselves.

I asked what they usually did for Christmas. They had no answer to give, and simply asked what you’re supposed to do for Christmas.

I explained, and again they became excited, but…

I really am beginning to worry what kind of effect being sealed away for so long has had on them.

* * *

**December 25th, 1993**

Heloise and I had a long talk about it after the Warners had left our office. And we decided that we simply could not let them spend Christmas alone. Not their first.

We went into the city and bought decorations for their Water Tower, and their bedrooms inside. We bought stockings, tinsel, a Christmas tree, everything to make the perfect Christmas. Heloise helped cook the food this time. We stuffed their stockings with presents, made hot cocoa, told stories of Santa Clause, watched holiday movies…

The Warners decided to invent reindeer games on the spot. I couldn’t keep up in my old age, but Heloise seemed amused enough. She’s spry, she could participate.

Ah, Heloise. Ever since the Warner arrived, she’s been so kind and caring with them, so patient. Almost like a maternal figure to them. None of them enjoy the crass humor surrounding Heloise’s figure that the three have to portray on-set for the sake of humor because of that.

But they all seem to get along. And the Warners seemed to enjoy themselves. 

It was… a good feeling.

* * *

**April 18th, 1997**

I cannot believe how much time has passed! 

The Warners have grown considerably over the last four years I have known them! Figuratively speaking, of course. And the show--goodness gracious, the show! It won a Peabody award within the first year! Nominations and winnings! It is an indescribable feeling!

The Warners. They really have found their place here in the studio, I believe. They have become like family to us. They may be goofy and unpredictable and not-so-normal. But they are good children. They have good hearts and they care so much for the people they work with. We all see it.

I have talked it all over with Heloise. After the show is over, I will see to it they receive a proper education. They will not live in that Water Tower. They will live with Heloise and I, in the office.

But first, I hear that the board of directors wants to film a movie for the three siblings! How exciting! And Wakko is supposed to be the main focal character. I always told them that he needed something to boost his self-esteem. It seems they have taken my advice to heart. I anticipate an exhilterating production!

* * *

**November 25th, 1999**

What have they done? What have they DONE?

**_What have those fools done?!_ **

The Warners! My kinder! The film, Wakko’s Wish, it is set to win more awards, make them more money, bring in more success! And what have they done?!

Someone has taken the Warners away!

I put them to bed, promising them a bright future, filled with happiness - a home, a family - and then they disappear! The Warners have run off before, but never on important occasions such as this! Someone has absconded with them!

I will not rest until I find them! I will find who did this!

* * *

**December 31st, 1999**

My kinder… I am sorry. 

You were sealed away again. Those callous directors saw it best to put you away when you were no longer useful to them.

Those heartless, ungrateful beasts. I won’t ask you to forgive them. I don’t believe I ever will.

I should have been there. I should have brought you home instead of letting you go back to that place. I should have checked on you more, I should have fought against the board, should have brought in the other toons, thrown away my career, my reputation--EVERYTHING to free you.

But I dare not risk your safety. Not while they are in control. I am but a weak man, and I have done all I could.

Heloise will still fight for you, my children. But I fear that by the time she succeeds - if she succeeds - I will not be here to greet you.

If you ever read this, please know that I did everything I could to free you again.

I am sorry. I am so sorry.

I hope that one day, you can forgive me for my failure. That you can find your way out again, and find a new family. One that can protect you far better than I could.

Until then, I pray that you will keep each other warm and safe. And keep your hopes alive, my Warners. Let nothing in this world change who you truly are deep down inside.

Please remember that there were at least a few people who truly and deeply cared for you, and loved you.

Be good, my Warners.

Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff, PhD

PS: If you find this, tell someone to **[REDACTED]**. I believe **[REDACTED]** may be **[REDACTED]**. I hope you are able to find peace and closure.

**Author's Note:**

> All knowledge of The Warner Brothers and The Warner Sister is to be disavowed to public officials, family, friends, and health insurance providers. All personal files, personal effects, or report logs mentioning/related to the Warner Brothers are to either be destroyed or delivered to Warner Brothers Board of Directors. All questions about the whereabouts of the Warner Brother characters are to be deflected or ignored.
> 
> As of now, The Warner Brothers and the Warner Sister no longer exist.
> 
> Warner Brothers Studios thanks you for your cooperation.


End file.
